Source Impact Filters: Content

These filters help you understand what is in a building material.

Nicole Schmidt avatar
Written by Nicole Schmidt
Updated over a week ago

Content: Bio-based

A product that contains a verifiable amount of renewable biological ingredients. It is defined by the United States Secretary of Agriculture. We limit these products to plant-based sources and do not consider wool, leather, or alpaca or any other animal by-product to be bio-based. This filter is built for designers looking for plant-based products.

  • Requirement: certified bio-based by the US Department of Agriculture and/or publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains a verifiable and quantifiable amount of material that is derived from a live organic source, typically a plant. Typical bio-based materials include: linoleum, bamboo, hemp, cotton, linen, wood, etc. Click here for more details. 

Content: Free of Antibacterial Additives

A product that does not contain added antibacterial chemicals, which are linked to increased proliferation of “superbugs” and have negative health and environmental effects, especially from long term exposures.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no antibacterial additives marketed with a health claim. Refer to this list assembled by Perkins + Will.

Content: Free of Antimicrobial Additives

A product that does not contain added antimicrobial chemicals, which are linked to increased proliferation of “superbugs” and have negative health and environmental effects especially from long term exposures.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no antimicrobial additives, particularly those that claim to have a health benefit. Refer to this list assembled by Perkins + Will.

Content: Free of Flame Retardants

A product that does not contain flame retardants, which research has shown to be toxins that accumulate in the body and harm humans and animals that interact with them, especially from long term exposures.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no flame retardant additives, particularly Tricresyl phosphate and/or the chemicals listed in Appendix 2 here.

Content: Free of Formaldehyde

A product that does not contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and persistent pollutant source. 

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no formaldehyde.

Content: Phthalate Free

A product that contains vinyl (PVC) but does not contain harmful plasticizers called phthalates,. 

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no phthalates of any kind.

Content: Post-consumer

Content in a product that has been diverted from the landfill at the end of its life cycle and recycled into a new product.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains a verifiable and quantifiable amount of post-consumer recycled content.

Content: Pre-consumer

Content in a product that has been diverted from the landfill during the manufacturing process (such as scrap material) and recycled into a new product.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains a verifiable and quantifiable amount of pre-consumer and/or post-industrial recycled content.

Content: PVC Free

A product that does not contain polyvinyl chloride, aka vinyl, luxury vinyl tile, vinyl composition tile, sheet vinyl, etc. Vinyl is a man made chemical that studies have shown releases dioxins that are persistent in the environment.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no PVC (vinyl).

Content: Recyclable

A product that can be recycled at the end of its life cycle.

  • Requirement: a product for which facilities exist to recycle the product at the end of its life. 

Content: Recycled

A product that contains recycled content.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains a verifiable and quantifiable amount of recycled content, either post- and/or pre-consumer.

Content: Renewable

A product that contains content that is rapidly renewable (grow and repopulate quickly) such as cork, cotton, bamboo, wool, sunflowers, and natural rubber.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains a verifiable and quantifiable amount of material that is harvested within a 10 year cycle. Typical renewable materials include, but are not limited to: bamboo, cotton, linen, cork, hemp, wool, rubber, etc.

  • Leather is not considered renewable by LEED.

Heavy Metal Free

A product that does not contain heavy metals such as antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, and nickel. Heavy metals have been linked to health problems such as cancer and developmental disorders.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains no heavy metals of any kind.

PVC Free Company

A manufacturer that does not produce any products that contain PVC.

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (in the case of industries that use PVC such as textiles, floor covering, wallcovering, partitions, etc) that a company does not use PVC.

Salvage Materials

A product that is made from materials that have been recovered or recovered from another building for reuse in a new project. 

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product contains salvaged materials, and details on where the salvaged materials come from.

VOCs - Low VOC

A product that emits a lower amount of volatile organic compounds (that new car, new paint, new carpet smell) when installed. Volatile organic compounds are solid chemicals that easily become vapor (airborne).

  • Requirement: publicly published documentation (such as Greenguard, Indoor Air Quality Certified, FloorScore, etc) that shows a product emits a low level of VOC. 

VOCs - No VOC

A product that emits a no amount of volatile organic compounds (that new car, new paint, new carpet smell) when installed. Volatile organic compounds are solid chemicals that easily become vapor (airborne).

  • Requirement: publicly published documentation (such as Greenguard, Indoor Air Quality Certified, FloorScore, etc) that shows a product emits no VOCs. 

Water Based Inks

Inks that do not contain toxic chemicals and can be disposed of easily and responsibly. 

  • Requirement: publicly available documentation (Declare Label, HPD, or self-disclosed by manufacturer) that a product is made with water-based inks.

Biodegradable

A material that is biodegradable is capable of breaking down into natural elements (water, carbon dioxide, biomass) without oxygen and will eventually completely degrade. 

  • Requirement: [Will release publicly pending results of internal discussions]

Compostable

A material that is biodegradable is capable of breaking down into natural elements (water, carbon dioxide, biomass) in about 90 days.

  • Requirement: [Will release publicly pending results of internal discussions]

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